


In Which Batman Has Children No One Knew About

by AKnightOfAGoodKing



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward introductions, Based on a Tumblr Post, Batwoman exists in the comment section, Creditd to batfamscreaming.tumblr.com, batfamily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 09:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11552601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKnightOfAGoodKing/pseuds/AKnightOfAGoodKing
Summary: batfamscreaming.tumblr.com: "AU where the Justice League forms like usual, except Batman maintained his “totally a myth” status and has in fact been active for years before the JL forms. He’s very cautious about trusting them, but still joins, and the others sort of accepts that as long as they trust that Batman has a really hard time with trust, it will all work out in its own weird way"So it would be a great surprise if all of the sudden, everyone started meeting the children no one ever knew he had.





	In Which Batman Has Children No One Knew About

**Author's Note:**

> **[DO NOT REPOST/REUSE MY WORK(S) WITHOUT MY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PERMISSION]**
> 
> Inspired by [http://batfamscreaming.tumblr.com/post/129848620280](http://batfamscreaming.tumblr.com/post/129848620280/au-where-the-justice-league-forms-like-usual) by batfamscreaming.tumblr.com.
> 
> Much appreciation for batfamscreaming for having such a fun and cute headcanon. ^^ I hope to have done it justice. I would suggest that you'd read the link first as I tried to integrate as much as OP's language as possible, thus some things almost exactly the same. Hopeful it's just as good. Thank you! ^^

For years, since the dawn of truth to the faithful arrival of hope to the tragic birth of justice, superheroes had long existed, and one of the greatest allegiance of Earth’s protectors was the Justice League, formed when what seemed like decades ago by the first founders, the core leadership consisting of Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl and Flash. None of them were short of the greatest achievement of man and alien, their partnership and friendship the shining pinnacle of trust, loyalty, and tolerance. And yet, however, one member of the League was spared from sharing his most intimate secrets, from his identity to his closest resources, and he was the most human of them all. It was _the_ Batman, who still to this day, nearly a few years after the formation of the League, remained a character more myth-like than the very daughter of Zeus herself. But yet again, despite this, Batman was also the one of the most trustworthy member of the team, proven time and time again as the League faced trails and trials. It was for that reason alone that no one demanded or pushed for answers from the Dark Knight, his paranoia and extremely slow process of trusting others barely a hindrance. And so, the Batman, for the longest time, was, as Green Lantern once said, “totally a myth.”*

Until that one time when even Batman couldn’t get them out of trouble, when they were captured and placed on a floating platform, all chained to the spot, and only feet away from a bomb with fire power equivalent to enough nukes to destroy the whole continent.

“There shackles are proving to be very _difficult_ ,” Wonder Woman said as she attempted to break from the chains around her wrists. Her effort let her move an inch, but she needed more time than they could afford, the bomb now counting down from thirty seconds.

“We need to stop the bomb!” Batman shouted, the only one bound the most. Their capturers were smart enough to figure that he was the most troublesome and took the time to be extra careful.

“Yeah, _thanks_ , Captain Obvious,” Green Lantern bit out, trying to reactivate his ring which was covered with some strong glue-like substance. “We need to call backup!”

“There’s not enough time,” Manhunter said with a frown, struggling as well. “Twenty seconds.”

“And so we shall go out as warriors,” Hawkgirl courageously said, trying again to break the chains around her wrists and wings.

Batman growled. “Stop trying to die honorably when you—"

And in that moment, from above, the ship of their capturers was falling from the sky like a comet, and it fell with a great boom several miles away, fire and smoke rising from its sabotaged ruins. Everyone was silent, the soft hum of a smaller, smoother and black airplane growing louder as it came towards them, and many pairs of eyes widened as a blue and black slur swooped down, landing expertly on his feet. Without a word, the blur, now more of a shadowy figure, detonated the bomb, stopping countdown right at the two last seconds, his success signaled by a loud beep.

“A _cell phone_ ,” the figure said, turning directly to Batman with said device appearing out of nowhere in one hand. At a closer look, the figure was a lean man, black hair with the nicest smile breaking through his sarcasm and wearing the most tight fitting bodysuit that could have ever existed. There was a large, blue bird stretched over his chest, stripes at his fingertips. “Hey, Batman, you know these things exists and you can just _call_ sometimes. It doesn’t have to be this dramatic.”

Batman, the one who would’ve taken the most damage as the only normal human in the team, merely frowned, ignoring the fact that he could’ve _died_ , but whatever. He lips were pursed as he brought his bound arms up to the other man.

“ _Why, thank you, my savior,"_  the figure said in a purposely poor imitation of Batman’s gruff voice as he pulled out a small spray bottle. With one press, the metal shackles were covered in ice, which broke easily when Batman pulled his arms apart. The two of them began to help the other members, who were speechless for the most part. The figure switched back to the poor imitation and his own voice. “You’re welcome, Batman! Gee, golly, it’s been awhile since we saw each other, huh? _Yes, almost a_ **_month_ ** _ago._ Then we should really catch up outside work. Let’s do brunch! Invite your new friends! _That’s a great idea, chum. I’ll bring them over this Thursday._ That sounds great. Alright, I have to go now. See you, Justice League.”

It was like watching a performance, the masked man acting the parts well as he calmly freed Hawkgirl, Flash, Green Arrow and Superman like it was second nature. And when his act was over, without any prompt, the actor gave them all a bow and a wave as his plane hovered feet away from the edge, and he back flipped right into the opening, flying away without another word.

Batman was oddly silent, looking almost _mortified_ because nobody was letting this go. The rest of the mission continued without anymore near death experiences, and Batman had to to do his best to survive the bombardment of, “Who was that? Do you know him? _How_ do you know him? What’s going on? I didn’t know there was a vigilante in this area? Batman? Batman!”

“That was Nightwing.” Batman seethed out in a mumble. There was only so much he could take.

“I want in on this brunch, Batman,” Wonder Woman stated, daring the Gothamite to refuse her. It didn't help when the others agreed with that sentiment.

Alas, Thursday couldn't come soon enough, and the core League find themselves in a small apartment located right between the bad part of the neighborhood and the worst part of the neighborhood. The city, despite arriving at 10 in the morning, was still a little too dark and dreary. However, the most questionable thing was that they all came through the tiny window by the fire escape.

“Welcome to Blüdhaven,” this Nightwing character said, dressed in the most casual of clothing but his domino mask remained firmly glued to his face to hide his identity. It was an odd thing because it was like Batman trusted them and didn't at the same time, introducing them to this new hero but making sure the new guy couldn't be connected to his secret identity. “If B haven't told you yet, I'm Nightwing. I'm his first love child with justice.”

Batman nearly groaned at that introduction, shaking his head lowly.

“I did not realize Batman had a child,” Martian Manhunter said, calmly enough that no one was sure if he accidentally plucked a really loud thought out of the air or if he was trying to make a joke. But there was a collective muttering of agreement.

Nightwing stared for a moment, looking at each of them with wide eyes and seeing that they were telling the truth. Suddenly, he falls over the counter top of the kitchen island in a fit of laughter, nearly knocking over his bowl of cereal, and it became extremely worrisome when the younger vigilante just didn't seem to be able to stop.

Batman pulled out a small spray bottle from out of his belt, looking similar to the one earlier this week, and this time, it let out gas rather than ice. At that, Nightwing kicked at his mentor, still laughing. “Stop it,” he said, unable to hold back his snickers as he tried to wipe his eyes. “I wasn't hit by Joker gas, B, but this is the funniest thing I've heard in years! I'm so sorry, you guys, but I'm gonna need you to leave. I'm crying right now, and the mask is getting in the way. I promise I'll make it up to you.”

And with that, the League, though confused, were courteous enough to give Nightwing his moment to get a hold of himself, everyone once again going through the tiny window. When they were all standing on the fire escape, the young vigilante personally saw them out as he kept laughing. His breathing was labored as he managed to say, “We’re just _glad_ you're socializing now, Batman,” before closing the window shut.

Superman turned to look at Batman very slowly. “. . . _We_?”

Batman had somehow disappeared in the middle of that sentence, and ever since, he had been extremely tight lipped about his "child." A few members had tried going back to Nightwing on their own for more information, but he wouldn't tell them any more. “No, I'm not ruining this. This is the best entertainment I've had in years,” he would tell them with a playful smile.

Unknowingly for Batman, it was all downhill from then on when, fortunately his fellow (curious) Leaguerers, one mission _led_ them to get another bat vigilante, some assassin at the time running around picking off a startling number of rumored-to-be-corrupt politicians and some other not-so-nice people. No one was killed, but the state that the “victims” were left in was less than to be desired. It wasn’t the League’s usual shtick, but it had been very quiet this week, even in Gotham, and besides, there was no excuse in slacking off.

Superman found him first in an alleyway, everyone arriving and blocking the easiest exist soon after. At first glance, this vigilante looked like just another gangly biker, except he wore a red helmet that covered his entire head. It was startling that the assassin didn't seem at all frightened by the presence of the League. “This is the guy causing all the havoc in the city?” Green Arrow asked incredulously, arrow prepared to fire. “He doesn't look so tough.”

The assassin scoffed, probably rolling his eyes under his helmet as he crossed his arms nonchalantly. “Let me guess, you think you can take me on,” he said with a bite in his words, tilting his head towards the gun attached to his belt. “I'd like to see you try,  _Ollie_.”

Green Arrow’s eyes widened with shock, and the sudden tenseness put everyone on edge.

Then a black shadow fell right between the League and the helmet guy, his back to the latter rather than the former. “Stand down,” Batman ordered, holding up a hand.

“Batman, we can't let some—” Hawkgirl tried to protest, but she abruptly stopped when the assassin with the red helmet loudly, and rudely, interrupted.

“Oh my god,” the assassin said, pulling off his helmet to reveal a head of black hair with one white streak coming down the middle. Oddly, he wore a domino mask underneath, hiding his eyes, and it seemed almost similar to Nightwing’s. Without his mask, everyone could see that he was probably just nineteen or twenty, a mere baby compared to the rest of the League in terms of age. “Oh my _god_. Oh my fuckin’ god, you’re kidding me. What the fuck, Batman? I said to mind your own _business._  What, you put the entire League on my ass now? For fu—"

Batman just quietly buried his head in his hand, growling out, “ _No_ ,” _as_ the younger man started a subsequently one-sided shouting match. There was now no doubt in the League's mind that this assassin was much more related to Batman that ever expected, like the same level as Nightwing related.

Flash, the nicest guy there was in the world, felt sympathetic, and threw an arm over Batman’s shoulder. “Hey, man, I get why you don't want to talk about your other kid,” the speedster said. “It must be rough knowing one of them’s gone and become a weird violent vigilante, but we're not gonna judge you for something like that or shun you or anything, okay?”

Hearing that, the assassin stopped, looking at Batman with wide eyes, slowly saying, “Oh my god, he didn't tell you about us. Oh my god, Batman. Wow, just wow. The others are going to be _so_ offended. Just wow.”

Batman grunted, growling out a response, _“They are happy I am socializing, Red Hood.”_

The assassin, who apparently went by Red Hood, started cackling, and the League just kind of watch in miffed surprise as he pulled out a version of the grappling hook at the same time. He somehow managed to keep facing them as he pulled the trigger and fling himself up the side of the alley, the sound of his laughter echoing on the walls and his face contorted with disbelieving joy.

“He's my business, so keep out,” Batman said, right before left the same way and direction as the assassin.

The League was both in a state of shock and exasperation by then.

And that was the end of that. Or it should have been if the League, exactly one week later, found themselves in Gotham for the first time in months, Batman almost begrudgingly letting them help him at this stage but only because there was going to be several packages of Kryptonite. It should've been an easy mission. Scope bay by the docks, stake out until the ship arrive, ambush the exchange at sea, and float back to Gotham Harbor. So that was exactly how it went, everyone ready for clean up when a blur came crashing down on Hawkgirl, purple this time, with a fist directly hitting the Thanagarian’s jaw. It was such a perfect punch that it knocked the winged woman a few feet backwards.

“Take that, meta-human!” the blur shouted in warning. Superman didn't know how he missed her presence. “Hey, wait a minute. You're—"

“No, wait!” another person appeared, dressed in red and black, falling out of nowhere too, two R’s on his left breast. “Spoiler, that's the Justice League! You just _punched_ Hawkgirl!”

This Spoiler made a gesture that said, _no duh! “Yes, I kind of noticed that, Red Robin!”_ she replied, putting her hands up in her air in dramatics.

At a closer look, Spoiler and Red Robin—doesn't he know that's the name of a restaurant chain?—were scrawny, well-outfitted, but clearly very _young_. They were apologizing to Hawkgirl rapidly, failing around as they helped her up on her feet. Hawkgirl, despite the bruise already showing on her skin, was grinning. Wonder Woman was impressed too by Spoiler’s fire. “That was a great hit, Spoiler,” she spoke, looking over the two. “Are you both new heroes? Your skills are already quite impressive.”

Both Spoiler and Red Robin more or less deflated, clearly uncomfortable under the Amazonian’s scrutiny. Almost immediately, Wonder Woman knew how to turn to the only other person present who would be able to answer her questions. After all, Batman apparently knew everything that went in Gotham. She noticed that Manhunter was looking at Batman the same way he did when the Dark Knight was radiating mental discomfort _so hard,_ it couldn't be ignored.

“Oh no,” Green Lantern said, “don't tell me—"

The teenager in red coughed into his hand, awkwardly saying, “Uh, yeah, hi, _Dad._ Glad to see you've made some friends.”

That was when Spoiler started laughing, bent forward as she kept herself from falling to the ground. “I can't believe you said that!” she shouted in between, grabbing Red Robin by the cape. She was trying to bite the bottom of her lips to stifle her laughter but failing. “Sorry, we have to go! It was nice to meet you! Come back to Gotham again!”

Then the two disappeared, Red Robin also laughing along with Spoiler as they swung away on some landmark no one else noticed. Batman gave them all a flare, daring anyone to ask anymore questions. Not wanting to take the chance, everyone proceeded to cleaning process.

The night didn't end there, though, until a few hours later, when they had picked up all the Kryptonite and securely packaged it in special lead boxes, Gotham was leading them to a special hidden location in Gotham. Out of everyone in the world, Superman placed his whole trust in Batman to keep all that Kryptonite safe. And as they passed through the city, carefully following her savior, they spotted a completely dark figure dancing among the rooftops. She noticed them too, pausing just long enough to give a gleeful wave their way. It was Batman who stopped, hesitatingly waving back. It seemed to be more than enough, and she happily bounced, diving down from the building. She fell gracefully and faded into the shadows of the Gotham. They continued on after that, and when they reach the location of the secret storage and hid all the Kryptonite away, they found three thugs and one drug dealer who weren't there before, left out on the street corner for pickup.

“So,” Green Arrow said, sliding next to Batman, but the Dark Knight had already fled before anything else could be said.

A few days later, everyone except Batman met up for a chat in the Watchtower, discussing certain concerns and commentary. “They were teenager,” Superman said, hands outstretched and making a face like _These must be the newest._ “He can't have been training them for _that long.”_

There was something of a mutter of agreement, but no one really seemed all that comfortable. “I just want to know where they're coming from,” Green Arrow said. He snapped his fingers. “Termites?”

“Right out of the woodwork,” Green Lantern added, nodding.

Aquaman was a little unnerved that Batman had apparently hidden this many children and/or apprentices from them. Next to the King of Atlantis, Hawkgirl was giving the thumbs-up. She was not speaking unless absolutely necessary because her jaw was still bruised and being nursed with an ice pack. Wonder Woman was still impressed, but she, like Superman, was concerned about their age. Manhunter chose to observe, age merely a number for one as old as him. Flash, on the other hand, wanted to make sure everyone knew how he thought it was the cutest thing that has ever come out of Batman’s existence. “Imagine Father’s Day in the Batcave,” he said, smiling at the thought of party banners and cheesy gifts for dads. (“Please don't tell Batman I said that.” **)**

Since then, they kept on a lookout for Batman’s kids more often, even though no one honestly believed there would be any more surprise introductions. They were just _waiting_ , because at some point, it was almost a running joke, but even waiting for it to happen didn't nearly prepare them for the first time Batman allowed the League into his cave - a cavern filled with a least a decade’s worth of crime fighting history already displayed in the form of old, tattered uniforms, half of which were recognizable as belonging to the “new” heroes they had only recently encountered, all sitting alongside trophies form particularly grand fights, a fully functioning medical station next to the garage, and a computer the size of a small car.

It must have been time. Batman was finally on his way to fully trust the League and reveal his secret identity. Honestly, a few of them were very nervous, anxious to know who exactly was underneath that cowl. Flash was the worst at hiding his excitement, unable to stay still for longer than two seconds. Batman wasn't exactly direct with it either, needing a few moments to work up the courage. Understanding that, the League looked around (because if Batman had to work up the courage, it was going to be worth the wait). Most of them were attracted to the bright screen of the computer, coming closer to the highly rumored Batcomputer, when the high backed chair in front of it suddenly squeaked.

Batman growled when he heard it, but it was too late. “Oh my god,” Flash said, hand flying to his mouth. “Please tell me—"

At the same time, Green Arrow said, mouth forever remaining open now, “ _No_.”

Because the one who swivelled the chair around in the Batchair was a legitimate child, quite small for his age and didn't even come up to Manhunter’s midsection. He was wearing red, green, and yellow - colors that usually work bright but not for this boy, dark shades of the primary colors like half the costumes on display - and sporting his own scowl. “Father,” he hissed unpleasantly, “who are _these_?”

Green Arrow took the moment to shout quietly, “ _How many children do you have?”_ Green Lantern shook his head in disbelief.

“Batman,” Superman came forward, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. There was a look of genuine concern on his face. “I admire you a lot, but I think you have a problem.”

Batman pushed that hand away in annoyance, barking at the boy, “Go to your room.”

The boy, Robin, clicked his tongue, crossing his arms. “No,” he said firmly refusing _the_ Batman. Fully grown adults couldn't even look at the Dark Knight, but here was some two year old (probably actually a lot older, like ten or something) kid disregarding a direct order. Robin turned to Wonder Woman. “Father tells me that you're a formidable fighter, Amazonian. I challenge you to a duel.”

Then there was the sound of footsteps coming from the staircase at the side of the cave, an old man dressed finely appearing in the cave as if it was a normal thing to do. “Master Wayne,” the old man said, “forgive me if it's a bad time, but the others are waiting upstairs for you to formally introduce them to your friends. They're becoming quite excitable.”

There was pause.

“ _Oh my god, Bruce_ **_Wayne_ ** _is Batman?!”_

**Author's Note:**

> (As of August 14, 2018)
> 
> I just want to let you readers know that I _am_ aware that there is another fic that is very similiar to this by wwwlw on Ao3, ”the bat's nest," and I would like you to know that the similiar is because we based our works off the same popular Tumblr post. At first, that fic did, in fact, copy parts of this fic that isn't attributed to the original source, but that issue has been resolved April of this year. The other writer got back to me in a timely manner and made changes in respect to me, so please do not go harassing them. 
> 
> That being said, I would like to thank the people who saw the similiarities and cared enough to notify me of the possiblity of someone plagerizing my work. I am absolutely grateful that people would care about me this much. So again, thank you so much. I will never forget your kindness. ^^ I will appreciate future attempts as well because _please_ don't let someone take credit for someone else's work. 
> 
> (the only thing bad thing about this now is that i couldn't get as much attention. sorry, it's kinda of hard not to notice in comparison, but i don't have much internet presence, lmao.)


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